LOADED CAULIFLOWER MOCK POTATO SALAD

Some people get a chuckle out of the fact I now and then put a recipe on here and others tell me how much they like it.

LOADED CAULIFLOWER MOCK POTATO SALAD

 2 lb. cauliflower cut into smallish same-sized pieces (see notes)
 6 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and chopped
 6-8 slices of bacon, cut into short strips and then fried crisp
 1 cup grated sharp cheddar (white or yellow cheddar will work; we used some of each)
 1/2 cup sliced green onion (mostly green parts)
 1/2 tsp. onion powder
 salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
 1 cup mayo
 2 tsp. yellow mustard (not Dijon)
 1 tsp. onion powder
 salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Cut up cauliflower into smallish same-sized pieces and steam 5-6 minutes in a
vegetable steamer or in a pan with a
steamer insert. Test a piece after 5 minutes; you want the cauliflower fairly soft to resemble the texture of potatoes.
Drain the cauliflower into a colander placed in the sink and let it cool while you prep other ingredients. Don’t rinse; you want it to continue cooking a little.
When you’re ready to assemble the salad the cauliflower should be quite dry. If it isn’t, spread it out on paper towels placed on the counter and pat dry.
While the cauliflower cooks and then drains, cut bacon strips in short cross-wise strips and cook until the bacon is very crisp; then drain on paper towels.
Make
. (click that link to see the method I used, or use your favorite method.) Chop eggs coarsely.
Slice the green onion. Get one cup of grated sharp cheddar ready.
Whisk together the mayo, yellow mustard, 1 tsp. onion powder, salt, and fresh-ground black pepper to make the dressing.
When you’re ready to assemble the salad, put the well-drained (or blotted dry) cauliflower into a bowl and top with the chopped eggs.
Season well with salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp. onion powder; then add the dressing and gently combine with the cauliflower and eggs.
Add the crisp bacon pieces, sharp cheddar, and green onion and stir (gently) until the salad is well combined. (We saved out a little bacon, green onion, and cheese to garnish the top of the salad!)
You can eat right away or let the salad chill for a few hours.
Leftovers will keep well in the fridge overnight and can be eaten the next day, although you probably won’t have much left over. I’m guessing it might keep up to two days, but I’ve only kept it overnight.
We started with a 2-lb. bag of cut-up cauliflower and trimmed off some of the stem parts.

Weather!%$^&

Weather!
Whether the weather is cold,
Whether the weather is hot,
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

No, I didn't write it but it is one I have repeated for years and it could not be more appropriate. I am almost thinking that triple-digit heat isn't as bad as daily gloom. It is either raining or threatening rain and even if it isn't raining it is cloudy. If and when the sun comes out it never lasts for more than an hour.
Yesterday Butch and I went for a tour around some of our favorite haunts in Greene County Iowa. I took a few photos.

Spring Lake and yes, it was crowded.

The Twin Shoppe is open for business. It is Butch's favorite place for ice cream.

 This is a neighborhood cat laying claim to our tree. We are on speaking terms but not petting terms just yet. He had better leave the birds alone or it could get ugly. So far, so good!

Normal for now

I think we have reached the 'normal for now' mark because really do any of us know what the new normal will shake out to be?  We, seniors, are lucky. At our age, we have either learned how to roll with the punches or we are planted in the cemetery. If we do happen to get Covid-19 they predicted that our age group would be hit the hardest and in some ways that has been true. As for me and mine, we have done our best to obey the rules as they have been requested and it has not been much of a hardship. We will continue to take care and live on hope and hamburger.

We have been in our summer home for a week as of today. So far, so good. We have seen one of our friends, Mickey, from a distance. We happened to be going by her house and she was outdoors so we pulled into her driveway for a 6 foot+ visit. Sure was good to see her.

I told Butch I was ready to take a drive around the county and take some Spring type photos. The only thing missing is the sun! Cloudy day pictures are not that much fun to take or to look at.

The bird feeders are filled and the war of the squirrels has resumed. Butch now has to rely on stealth instead of speed. He shot off the BB gun in the air and they indeed remembered what that meant.

Butch is giving up the cane entirely for short trips. He says it doesn't feel totally comfortable but it is way more than he was doing 3 weeks ago so we are happy with it. The pain has abated and he should be ready to resume therapy. We are waiting for our 14-day isolation to end before we schedule much. 7 more days to go. We have an appointment in Moscow Iowa for the leveling legs on the motorhome on May 28th.  Therapy will be back on the list when we return from that, followed by getting our 2nd shingle shot and seeing some of our friends from a distance. In June we have appointments with the plastic surgeon for a dermatology exam and eye doctor for exams, not on the same day.

Till next time...

Done

Motorhome mattress turned, bedding washed and put back together, refrigerator washed thoroughly and set to air out so no moisture tarry's long, Yesterday and today caught up on laundry.
I did get credit card activated a couple of days ago when I happened to get hold of the woman who knew how to do it. Took less than a minute.

And Butch is back on his lawnmower!

His indoor cane.

His outdoor cane is on that mower somewhere...

Fairly Done Deal

Well, I did it! All the trips have been made except for an odd or end now and again. Yup, it is all in the house and it looks chaotic here. It will all get sorted out in time. Getting things organized, doing laundry and a good cleaning of the motorhome is all on my todo list. Better yet, is that the weather will not interfere. Forgot to mention the outdoor stuff. I even forgot to think about until this very second. Hmmm
I was so tired last night that I learned from others that there were storms. I didn't hear them. I do like a whizbanger of a thunderstorm now and then. It clears the air. Maybe next time!

Yesterday

It was Friday and I took somewhat of a break. Actually, I went through the mail and that brought up all kinds of details to tend to, like sending in a request for an absentee ballot, pay by mail the licensed vehicle-renewal, call Discover card because I could not activate my card renewal because I had forgotten to change my phone number associated with it last fall and other things I cannot remember at the moment. That credit card thing is still not resolved! It was a mildly frustrating day. In all my years I have had much worse. This one was merely niggling.

Plan for the day it to get back to the transition of moving. It will be fairly easy. The worst of it is always the kitchen. The remainder is not as pressing.

Later...

Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig

Since it wasn't raining we decided to start the transition from living in the motorhome to living in the house. It was so much easier when we were full-timers. We would pull into a site and be completely settled in within 30 minutes. Now it is at least two days of hard work. By hard work, I mean finding a place for all things like groceries, clothing, and tools. I have many things duplicated but then the memory of what is and isn't duplicated comes into play. The easiest solution is to be a full-timer!

Butch is feeling fine. A bit frustrated that he cannot be more helpful but I must say he has carried a large part of the load for many years and this year it is on me. And I will brag on myself just a little. I am proud of myself in problem-solving. Yesterday I retrieved the lawn cart from the shed, cleaned it out, and loaded it up for the trip to the house with things from the motorhome. It isn't all that far but it lessened the need for strength and cut way down on the number of trips. So the kitchen stuff is done and the clothes are next.

Ordinarily, I would have called in the troops for help but Covid-19 squashed that plan but ever looking on the bright side we got 'er done!

Leo and Keri did bring us supper from Casa de Oro, our favorite Mexican restaurant. Butch and I have been looking forward to a meal from there for many miles. It was wonderful!

Till next time...

On the 4th and Final day of travel...

The rain continued off and on and being the drizzly sort it was merely a nuisance and only briefly a hazard. It was a 380-mile stretch only about 50 miles further than our usual days of moho travel. There is considerable construction on the east side of I-435 around Kansas City and after looking at the route this morning we would be better off going around the west side next time. It is only 6 miles further.
We stopped in Peculiar MO for a short visit with the Missouri kids, Gary and Susan, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. Hopefully, it will not be too long until we can have a "real" visit.
So we're home now and we agreed it feels strange to be here after all we have been through the past 2 1/2 months. And it will take some time to get settled back in the house. The advice is to always take it slow but experience tells me how difficult it is to live in two places at the same time. Whatever you want or need is always in the wrong place until the changeover has been completed. On the plus side is that I love the view from the motorhome. It is a bit like living in a treehouse.

These photos were taken as I was seated at my computer.

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And here are two photos of sunflowers taken in "Sunny" South Texas. There were acres and acres of them. A most pleasant surprise.

On the third day of travel...

Well, it was a challenge! In Thackerville OK we were told we would be having some thunderstorms overnight and indeed we did. Nothing scary, but it was noticeable. The forecast for that area on Tuesday AM was light rain. No big deal so we headed east on 82, and it was raining, but then all hell broke loose! It was a deluge!! Trucks were driving slow and with there blinkers on. How Butch can see to drive at all always amazes me. As we near HWY 75 North the clouds cleared for a very short time, just enough to see clearly where we had to turn. I know when to be grateful when it hits me in the face and I was filled with gratitude! We hoped that when we headed northeast we would eventually get out of the heavy rain and after several miles, it did let up enough to be tolerable. The rest of the day was pleasant and we finally were able to listen to our current audiobook. "Valentine" I always shut down the audiobook whenever conditions take all of his attention and that was very true today. We were going to stay at the Downstream Casino at Quapau OK despite the fact the casino itself was closed. Instead, we decided to stop at Coachlight RV Park. We are very familiar with it as it is connected to the place we purchased our 2004 Newmar Kountry Star in 2004. As it turned out they had one spot left! We are so grateful as we did not have a plan B. It seems we are always being 'looked after' by the powers that be. And we count our lucky stars all the time.

And now for the question of the month. Butch is doing fine. Driving is something at which he has always excelled and that has not changed. We have been able to stop when he needed to and his stamina has kept steady throughout the trip. The first leg was a little hard on him but he rested well each night. We are one day or two from our summer home in Jefferson Iowa. Stay tuned...

On the Second Day of Travel...

My true love and I headed out the Walmart parking lot at Marble Falls Texas at 7:30 AM headed for the  Winstar Casino campground at Thackerville OK. The weather is near perfect and the traveling was easy and we arrived at about 1:00PM without incident. The campground is as empty as we have ever seen it since the casino is closed. We have no other RV's even close to us.

We are enjoying the trip but will be glad to be home as well.

On the first day of travel...

My true love and I headed out the gate at 7:30 AM. We had prepped everything the day before including buying diesel fuel at the Circle K on Val Verde Road for $1.92. Butch will remember that fact for a very long time. Considering the circumstances, traffic was heavy. I was rather surprised, with Covid-19 and all and the care that everyone had been taking. It was Mother's Day and perhaps that had something to do with it. But shouldn't you want to keep Mom safe too? Later in the day while parked in the Walmart parking lot at Marble Falls, I went into the store all masked and gloved to get Butch some ice cream as a treat for his good driving. In there, was a frantic young woman on the phone telling a friend, " I want to get her something special and I don't want her to think I was picking up something at the last minute." That is exactly what she was doing! Gave me a chuckle...
There were only about 1 in 20 people wearing masks. I did not feel comfortable in the crowded store as no one seemed to have a clue about distancing. It seems the ones who do wear masks think that is all they need to do. I am afraid there are going to be many quite surprised when more get sick and die. I think all we have done so far is perhaps slow down the process.

Butch was tired when we got there and we continued listening to the audiobook, "The Dutch House" read by Tom Hanks. It was a good one and held our interest. I would give it 5 stars. We finished it today(Monday) And started "Valentine". I understand it is a popular book right now. We are not far enough into it yet to share an opinion.
My son Gary recommended one to me I plan to get soon. "Hiding in Plain Sight" written by a Missouri woman.
Our reading has picked up tremendously since the "Great Fall" and Covid-19. Life, in general, has slowed down and I like it.

Preparing for Traveling North 2020

We have spent the week getting prepared for takeoff. Much different this year from any other in a myriad of ways. Butch is able to help within reason and I have done far more than I ever have before and I thank God that I am able to do it. So today is down to the last bits. We will be getting the last of it done- making sure everything in cupboards is secure and won't bounce around creating trouble, dumping the black and grey tanks for the last time, fueling up so we do not have to find fuel before our first stop, getting the car hooked up with Omar's help and moving to the holding area where we will be ready to pull out first thing in the morning.

We are a bit antsy as we always are at this point in the process. It rained last night for the first time all season and it appears to have rained a couple of inches. They are forecasting rain for today too but in checking out radar there doesn't seem to be anything imminent. Butch wants to get everything done before it does start raining. Me too! We are in an excellent place to do some thumb-twiddling and we have those 4 books, remember?

I purchased more groceries this year than I normally would because I will be cooking along the way and when we land in Jefferson. No big deal there. I can count on one hand, maybe two, the number of times we have eaten in a restaurant in the past year. And that was before the Covid-19 event. In a month, I will be coming up on the one year mark of my new way of eating and I am thinner than I have been since 1984. I feel great and so much more flexible. I have no trouble trimming my toenails.

So it is time to wrap this up and get on with the day. I will do my best to keep the blog up to date as we progress so stay tuned.

Quote from Rumi

"Whatever lifts the corners of your mouth, trust that." -Rumi

Plans

We are still planning on leaving here (South Texas) and heading for Iowa on Sunday, the 10th. The Pandemic has made nothing easy. I never thought I would say this but Texas is doing a much better job of handling it all than Iowa and that will require yet another adjustment on our part. We will continue to abide by social distancing and wear masks and gloves when appropriate. It is what has kept Texas safer than other places because, for the most part, people have been compliant. We will be sleeping and eating only in the motorhome, leaving our only other possible contact when fueling. Gloves, masks, and social distancing will be uppermost in our minds on those occasions. At most, there will be 3 fuel stops more likely 2.
Butch doesn't seem to think driving will be a problem. The only difficulty I foresee in that direction is finding a place to stop so he can stand up and move around some. He will need to do that more than he usually does.

Once we arrive in our own backyard we will self isolate for 14 days. We do have an appointment in Moscow Iowa to get our leveling legs repaired at the end of that time.

Butch has one more therapy session before we leave. I am assuming they will start up again when we get home.
Between the two of us, we have handled far more of the prep work than I would have been able to do a year ago. We have several chores yet that Omar will help us with on Saturday that involve some heavier lifting. The park has what they call a holding area where we can spend the last night all hooked up and ready to roll so early Sunday morning we will head out.

Till next time...

Book Bub

Since we are all spending much more time at home than in the past I thought I would see if you needed another standby of ours- Book Bub. I am listening to one book while I walk, reading another in the bathroom, and both of us listening to a third one when we can't get Netflix to come through because of heavy Internet use in the valley, and Butch is also reading one on his Kindle! This really didn't fully register with me until I wrote it down. Wow! We have 4 books going at the same time.

When you sign up for Book Bub they will send you some possible choices of books in your email. All are low cost and some are free. We are both members and Butch likes being able to get the free ones. I will spend $2 or $3 if the book review seems worthy of my attention. There isn't a fee for joining.

The last app of the day- SEEK was quite a hit with many of my readers so I thought I would share another favorite of mine.
You can find Book Bub here: bookbub.com/referral/f7212859381dd00e

App of the day

 App of the day

Seek by iNaturalist
This app is so cool! Next time you’re outside, simply open the app, point the camera at a plant, animal, bug, etc., and the app will identify and teach you things about that living object.

I took the advice of the above blurb I found in the RV newsletter, April 30th edition. I have been having a good time with it. Not only will it identify while you are looking at the plant, but I also pointed it at old pictures I had taken that were on my computer and it identified them as well.

Here is one I took this morning. Identified a Texas Wild Olive.

And this is a Golden Rain Tree

Baby Steps

We are taking baby steps toward getting ready to roll. Yesterday between the two of us we were able to break down our bikes and get them ready to be loaded. The Internet guy with Coba came and picked up the modem and router etc. The rest of the day we were on break pretty much. Butch needed a day of rest. The readying part that lies ahead is not all that difficult to deal with and we have about as much experience in that endeavor as anyone can ask for.

Late in the day, we went over to Liz's place and she was finishing up on a couple of haircuts. She says her haircut workload has become too close to being a full-time job. We are each scheduled in for a haircut before we leave. She was tired but we did play 3 games of cribbage and we each won a game. Her best friend, Dave is back east (New Hampshire) taking care of some business. We will be back in Iowa before he returns but we might get to see him in Iowa this summer if all goes well. If not, then again in the fall.

The White Pole Road in Iowa

PBS video about the white pole road

http://www.iowapbs.org/video/story/36393/great-white-way

A bit overdone?

Butch and I are both feeling like we may have overdone it a bit yesterday. We decided to start early getting ready to leave and that way we have time to assess and perhaps recover and/or repair whatever might show up as a flaw. So we asked Omar and Donna, our neighbors across the street, to help us get the screens off and they were happy to oblige and assured us if we needed more help to not hesitate to ask. I could do a whole post on how asking is hard for Butch to do. I know others like that. Her name starts with "M" and she will know who she is. We all come to a time when we need assistance most likely from the younger generation. And what many forget is that it makes people feel good to help someone else.

So the screens were removed and they needed washing. I hate putting anything away dirty. I also needed to wash the rugs and here is a good place to do that as we have nice cement slabs that can be used to lay them out to powerwash them. So I did that. Butch helped by aiding in locating things and hooking them up for me. Needless to say, we both put in a good days work. He had therapy at two as well. I didn't go with him this time.

Butch wanted to "exercise" the generator on the motorhome and this is something that needs to be done often. It is recommended to do it every month but we do not seem to get it done quite that often. That process went fine. We also wanted to test the leveling legs to see that they were functioning. We have had them be difficult in the past. And that is where we did run into a snafu. Two of them did not want to budge. We tried all the usual methods to get them to work to no avail. We do have an RV repair fellow in the park and as I write this, Butch and Wayne are assessing the situation. Got the word. No luck but there is a stop-gap measure that can be done so we can travel. We will want to wait till the day before we leave to do it I am guessing. It is not as serious as it may sound to the uninitiated. As Butch is fond of saying, "It won't affect the running of it none." It will require a drive to Moscow Iowa and the hydraulic repair place sometime in the next month or two. That and a few or maybe several hundred bucks and we will be good as new.

So last night we were both nursing our aches and pains. But before you start feeling sorry for the old boy I must tell you that he has on more than one occasion taken off walking forgetting his cane! I know, it surprises us both when it happens. The doctor did tell him this would be one of the signs he would be ready to give it up. He is definitely not there yet but perhaps a step or two closer.

So this morning I decided to get my walk done so I could shake out some of my kinks and take a few photos. I walked the perimeter of our neighboring park, Winter Ranch, and then circled the golf course so the total was  1 1/2 mile. That was enough to loosen up a few muscles.

Beautiful day today- Temp at 8:00 am was 66 with humidity at 25.

Today's photos

Corn has ears

And tassles

 Listen to the Mockingbird

Dove 1

Dove 2

Jack 1

 Jack 2

Hole number 6

Helen's Obituary

Helen's Obituary

Helen and her husband Lynn were friends of ours and we took square dance lessons with them in the early 60's traveling to Perry and Grand Junction for them. Helen's twin sisters, Joyce and Joy, babysat for us. Helen and Lynn were a whole lot of fun. Helen's obituary was particularly interesting to me and I thought my readers might think so too.

Obituary for Helen Louise Finley

On Dec. 10, 1942, Helen Louise Orfield was born in Allerton, Iowa, at the home of her father’s mother Annie Orfield, on her Aunt Helen’s birthday. She was named after her aunt. 

Helen was the fourth child of Edna May and Floyd Oscar Orfield. They would go on to have a total of 15 children: Alta, Annie, Arlene, Helen, Elaine, June, Joyce, Joy, Flo, Dwayne, Jerry, Darwin, Mark, Debbie, and Oscar. 

Helen is survived by 12 of her siblings, with Elaine and Darwin predeceasing her. 

With so many children, Helen’s mother Edna May had to have help and Helen fondly remembered Arlene being a second mom to her. 

The siblings continue to have a reunion on the same weekend every year in Iowa, which Helen loved attending. 

Helen’s father Floyd was employed by Paul Mears who owned farms on which the Orfield family lived and worked. Helen remembered her chores including laundry, cooking, canning, cutting weeds out of the bean and corn crops, milking cows, feeding the cows, and pigs. She was a hardworking kid!

Helen remembered when many, if not all of the Orfield children, had chickenpox and measles at the same time. Her mother’s mother came by train and stayed a long time to help care for the children. 

They made a bed for Helen in the kitchen with a curtain around it and she remembers the treat of being given warm milk at bedtime and receiving extra attention from her mother, which made it a special time for her. 

She also recalled that the family had one of the first TVs in the neighborhood and many neighbors would come over to watch “Friday night fights.” 

The winters in Iowa can be harsh and Helen remembered a snow so deep that the family had to leave the house from the second floor to feed the animals. Also during, winter when the river froze, Floyd would use a chainsaw to make holes in the ice and sharpen spears for the kids. They would stomp on the ice and spear the fish that swam under the open holes.

Helen’s favorite time of the year was the 4th of July. Her father would go to Missouri to buy plenty of fireworks and her mom would make taffy and the Orfield kids would spend the evening pulling taffy with the neighbor kids.

Helen attended school in Bagley, Cooper, and Jefferson. She remembers the one-room country school having a potbelly stove on which the class cooked their dinners. Helen played basketball for two years and was a cheerleader. For one of those years, her sister Arlene played on the same team. 

It was when she was in 8th grade at Bagley that Helen asked Lynn Finley to take her to the prom. Lynn had to first get the okay from her dad Floyd, who agreed to the date. Lynn took her to his junior and senior prom driving his 1949 Ford. “We had a blast,” she recalled.

 

Lynn and Helen liked to roller skate, but they didn’t just skate, they danced as a couple on skates. It was a beautiful and romantic sight to behold. 

Helen had two jobs during high school. She was an A&W carhop and she sold tickets and concessions at the movie theater. 

Two of Helen’s favorite movies were “Bambi” and Elvis Presley’s “GI Blues.”

 

She graduated from Jefferson High School in1961. 

Not long after her high school graduation, Helen was married to Lynn Milo Finley at the Central Christian Church in Jefferson on June 18, 1961. They spent the first year of marriage living in Oceanside, Cal., where Lynn was in the Navy,  stationed with the Marines as a hospital corpsman at Camp Pendleton. In May of 1962, their son Richard was born. The family of three returned to Iowa,

where in 1964 their second child Glenda was born. 

In 1966, the family of four moved to Wichita for the job opportunities at Cessna and Boeing. Helen was a sheet metal assembler and an inspector at Cessna Aircraft. In 1973 their third child Boyd was born and they were a completed family of five.

 

Helen and Lynn belonged to the Eastern Star and Shrine. They enjoyed the CSA gatherings, the dances, camping with that group, taking part in parades, and clowning. Not clowning around, they were actually clowns!

Around 2002 Lynn and Helen retired from Cessna Aircraft with Lynn having worked there for 37 years as a mechanic and a manager and Helen, for 33 years. 

After Lynn died in October 2017, Helen expressed a desire to be with him. 

Following a fall and declining health, Helen moved to Golden Boomer’s, an assisted living home, where she spent the last year of her life. The Finley children are comforted knowing that their mom and dad are once again together and “Dancing in Heaven.’

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; sister Elaine, brother Darwin; granddaughter Zerena and great-granddaughter Kallie. Helen is survived by her son Richard (LaVeda) Finley; daughter Glenda (Tim) Atwell and son Boyd (Amy) Finley.  Also her sister sister-in-law Verlee (Ronald) Mathis; grandchildren David, Christopher (Shanna), Michelle, Zach, Zavry (Kelsey), and Zara; and her great-grandchildren Alexis, Logan, and Madison.

Butch plus

Last night I had 3 text messages in less than an hour asking about how Butch was doing and when we may be headed for Iowa. So Butch is doing well. From his caregiver, ME it sometimes seems like he has taken two steps forward and 1/2 step back. For instance, this morning he noticed a red, swollen place on the heel of his right hand about the size of a half-dollar. (By the way, anybody remember half-dollars?) We assume it is from pressure when using his walker or cane. Since the cane is the newest addition I am assuming the cane is the culprit. He has a therapy session this afternoon so he can discuss it with them.
We have a tentative leave date of May 10th and that would put us back in Jefferson on the 14th. Leave here on Sunday and overnight in Marble Falls TX at Walmart. Winstar Casino Campground in Thackerville OK on Monday night. Yes, the campground is open. Tuesday night it will be the Downstream Casino Campground at Quapaw OK. Wednesday we are going to give the first rest area in Iowa a try and then arriving in Jefferson on Thursday the 14th. This all hinges on the dominoes falling in place. We always plan on 300 to 350 mile days and this time we plan to closely adhere to that. The result of that is arriving at each destination feeling fit as a fiddle and getting well rested for the next leg. We are also choosing a well-traveled route for us. We have had enough of unplanned adventures to last us the whole year.

I am usually quite critical of the way Texas handles government issues but with the Covid-19 issue they have done a good job so far. When we talk to people from other states they tell us people are slack with masks, gloves and distancing. We have not found that here. and the numbers reflect it. People are taking care of things on their own for the most part although I did see a store employee in HEB tell a customer her mask had to cover her nose as well as her mouth. She pulled the mask back up to cover her nose. They will be backing off on some things on Friday, May 1st but it has been stressed that self-compliance is still expected and given a pat on the back for doing so well during the hardest part. At least we hope it was the hardest part.

Miscellaneous Pics Taken two days ago

Racetrack

Randy Clark Passed

For those of you who know us well, you also know we have very good friends in Atlantic IA Randy and Sherri Clark. We just received word that Randy passed away early this morning (2:00 am). We met Randy and Sherry in our golfing years at Nishna Hills. Many happy, interesting, and fun rounds of golf were spent with the Clarks. A year ago Randy had a health crisis with a flesh-eating bacteria on his arm. The word we received is that it returned and this time in his foot. We are still reeling from the shock. This is Randy in 1998

Meandering Mind

The youngest of our three boys was born 57 years ago today. We were in Iowa and it was a beautiful Spring day. I didn't know that until later as he was born at 2:36 am after a wild ride from Churdan Iowa to Lake City.
57 years later we are in Alamo Texas and the temperature yesterday was over 100 degrees. That puts us indoors with the AC just as surely as an Iowa blizzard hikes up the furnace. Last night as we were preparing to go to bed, I asked Butch what the temperature was as he sits right by the thermometer. 88 degrees at 9:30 PM!!! Ordinarily, we head North when the temps are consistently too warm but this year calls for some patience.

This year will be another one that will historically go down in infamy. It boggles the mind. I remember sitting in a classroom in 7th grade and the subject touched on the world getting overpopulated. The teacher, Mr. Kundrat, said that nature would take care of it as it always had in the past. I don't know that he was right but I did remember the conversation when they started projecting how many people might die from Covid-19.
We are far from over with this turn of events and I do believe it will change many things permanently. Those folks who have issues with change will struggle with it. I usually embrace change. I can't say I "embrace" it in the welcoming sound of that word but I do think I will adjust because my personal history shows me that I always have. Well I just looked at the temp and we are sitting at 79 degrees at 7:50 am so I better get to walking or it won't get done today.
Till next time...

Busy week

We have had appointments for the past 3 days. Therapy sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday. Tuesday Butch went to his therapy appointment alone and afterward filled the car up with gas. It gives a note of normalcy to our life as it is now and feels good to both of us. Wednesday we both went to his doctor's appointment and he drove.  All is well and continuing to heal although he was reminded that it will take considerably longer for him to completely heal. 6 months at least for back to normal status. September 7th will be the 6-month recovery date from the GREAT FALL. He was told he could drive the motorhome back to Iowa if he felt comfortable doing so and he does but at this time he needs to stand up and give his leg a rest perhaps too often for travel. So it will be a few weeks yet. The biggest obstacle at this time is getting the motorhome prepped for the trip. Our neighbor across the street is a young man by our standards and has offered to help so we plan to ask for Omar's help when the time comes. We put a sunscreen on the windshield and the application and removal involve a ladder. A ladder is the last thing either of us needs to deal with currently and perhaps ever.
Thursday was another therapy day and I went this time because I needed some things at both HEB and Costco. So Butch drove to his appointment and then I drove to get the shopping done. It didn't feel strange to drive. I am still comfortable with my new found confidence in driving. Traffic has increased since the lessening of Covid-19 restrictions. They are still pretty tight rules with social distancing and masks still needed and I think they will be for a while yet...maybe months.

Our life has really not changed drastically during this strange time. The broken leg has made far more changes than the Covid-19 situation. We are used to living in small places, and we are used to each other's neverending presence and entertaining ourselves in a myriad of ways. We can always think of things to do. Read, play cards, listen to audiobooks, clean cupboards, resume old hobbies are just a few things that come to mind.  The one thing that springs to my mind and results in the most benefit is to go for a walk! Get outdoors, listen to the sounds all around you, breathe the fresh air, and not for 5 minutes, try a half-hour minimum. It will set the mood for the whole day! I think we all need a closer connection to the outdoors. If all you can manage is a walk around the house. Do that.

I am a fan of him, I am!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss

Improvement

Yesterday I needed to go to the office to get ice. We used to be able to get our own BC (Before Covid-19) but now the office people fill our containers for us. Ice is one of the many benefits given freely to us in Trophy Gardens. As hot as it has been of late we use a bunch of it.
While there I asked if there happened to be a footed cane in the Medical assists closet. Yes, Trophy Garden has one of those too. We currently are using a shower chair from that same closet. Yes, there was one 4-footed cane left so I took it to see if Butch wanted to try it. It worked so well for him that he may have overdone it a bit. It has made getting around easier for him and takes up far less space than the walker. He is using both. We will gladly return all of this equipment to the closet when he no longer needs it. So once again one small event gives us hope that returning to Iowa may not be that far off. We still do not know exactly when but we have set a tentative date. It is always good to have something to aim at. I will let you know our tentative date when it is less tentative. It is still two to three weeks away.

Time Passes Pandemically

Yup, it passes regardless of what is happening throughout the world. Life isn't all that much different for us. It is a good thing we enjoy each other's company. And we are good at entertaining ourselves for the most part. We read books and stuff on the computer. Speaking of that...computer...and Internet, our lives right now would be very different if it weren't for the ability to have a worldwide library at our fingertips. I have always been in awe of it. The Internet. I must say it was probably the biggest life-changing event of my life. I have always had a hungry mind and the Internet helps to keep that hunger satisfied.

The other big change these days is the amount of cooking I do. That began last June when I changed my way of eating. I do not mind cooking if I have the ingredients and the time and I do have enough of both these days. I am having trouble remembering our last restaurant meal. It was definitely before March 6th. Aha! I remember it was at Dirty Al's in McAllen for my birthday. I had shrimp and Butch had a cheeseburger.

'Nother subject. When Butch got his new phone I noticed it came with Duo.

"Google Duo is a video and audio calling app made by Google, similar to Apple's FaceTime, Facebook's WhatsApp or Messenger and Microsoft's Skype. Duo is free to use and works across both iOS and Android devices - unlike Apple's FaceTime."
Mar 30, 2020


I didn't think too much about it because I didn't have much fondness of the idea of video chatting.
I actually am not all that fond of phone audio chatting. Yesterday, Jason tried to connect with us using Duo and we were eventually able to get it done. It is the easiest program for video chatting we have ever tried. Our doctor down here tried to get Zoom working to have a virtual consultation but it wasn't working well on her end or ours so we both gave up. After the bad press on Zoom, I uninstalled it from my phone. Duo works so much easier. I think we will like it and I can see the many benefits besides the usual of just visually seeing who it is you are talking to on the phone.
We both have it on our phones now.
 I must get out to get a walk in now despite the fog. It was 74 degrees when I awoke and it will be sunshiny and much warmer soon. Till next time...

Too many "Facts"